Kesari Chapter 2 Review

13th April 1919 is a day that witnessed one of the most brutal genocides in the history of mankind at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab, Britsh India. Thousands of Sikhs were brutally killed by Brigadier
General, Reginald Edward Harry Dyer and his troops on that day.

Akshay Kumar, the director, Karan Singh Tyagi and the producer, Karan Johar, teamed and made the film, ‘Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh’, which talked about genocide and its aftermath. Did the makers of the film succeed in their attempt to bring the untold story onto the screen? Let’s figure it out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

What happened at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab, British India on 13th April 1919? How many people were killed on that day in the genocide? How did the British Empire try to cover it up? What is the backstory of General, Reginald Edward Harry Dyer (Simon Paisley Day)? How did Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair (Akshay Kumar) fight against the British Empire in court to bring justice to the people who lost their lives during the genocide? Kesari Chapter 2 talked about all the aforementioned things in a detailed manner.

Performances:

Akshay Kumar in the role of ‘Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair’ is outstanding. His performance in the film deserves a huge round of applause. In particular, he breathed fire and roared during the bar council sequence in the climax. His performance in the film should definitely find a place in his ‘top performances’ category.

Though he was a bit loud in his opening court scene, Madhavan as Adv. Neville McKinley delivered a very good performance. He looked too good as usual. Ananya Panday is the surprise package in the film. In the role of Dilreet Gil, she delivered a commendable performance.

Regina Cassandra as Parvathy Nair did her part well and so did Amit Sial as Tirath Singh. Simon Paisley Day is first-rate in the role of menacing and ruthless, in the role of General Reginald Dyer. Krish Rao’s performance in the role of Pargat Singh deserves a special mention. He is excellent in his role.

Technicalities:

Dialogues by Sumit Saxena are excellent. There were quite a few dialogues in the film that drew huge cheers and claps in the theatre. Cinematography Debojeet Ray is good. His camera work gave the film a very authentic look. However, the art department’s overenthusiasm and Western influence gave the film a ‘SHERLOCKish’ look and did not give the look and feel of pre-independence India.

Music by Shashwat Sachdev & Kavita Seth – Kanishk Seth is brilliant. The emotional songs and the background score perfectly synched with the mood of the film. Nitin Baid with his slick editing ensured the film had a crisp runtime. The director, Karan Singh Tyagi did a commendable job. He and his fellow writer, Amritpal Singh Bindra, took many cinematic liberties but made a very engaging film.

Positives:

1.⁠ ⁠Brilliantly Executed Court Sequences
2.⁠ ⁠Pre-Climax and Climax
3.⁠ ⁠Akshay Kumar’s Roaring Performance
4.⁠ ⁠Supporting Actors Performances
5.⁠ ⁠Direction
6.⁠ ⁠Dialogues
7.⁠ ⁠Background Score
8.⁠ ⁠‘The Empire Is Shrinking’ Sequence

Negatives:

1.⁠ ⁠Certain Cinematic Liberties
2.⁠ ⁠Over Dramatization of A Serious Issue

Analysis:

Since 2019, Akshay Kumar has made eight films (i.e.Kesari, Mission Mangal, Bell Bottom, Samrat Prithviraj, Mission Raniganj, Sarfira, Sky Force & Kesari Chapter 2) that were made based on real-life incidents. His latest film, Kesari Chapter 2, is the best out of all the eight films. It is based on the ‘Jallianwala Bagh massacre’ that took place in 1919 in Amritsar, Punjab, British India.

‘It’s been 106 years and the people of Punjab still are waiting for an apology from the British empire’, the film ends with this powerful line. At the end of the film, the patriotic angry Indian in you certainly agrees with the film-makers. The people of Punjab deserve an apology from the British Empire. They indeed deserve an unconditional apology for the brutal killings that took place on that sad day, the 13th of April in 2019 in Amritsar.

There were a few films in the past that showed the ‘Jallianwala Bagh genocide’ but, Kesari Chapter 2” is the first full-fledged that was made on the genocide and its aftermath of the incidents. There are quite a few sequences in the film that make the patriotic in you angry with the British empire and feel sorry for the people who lost their lives during the genocide. Especially, the pre-climax and climax portions of the film are simply outstanding.

Akshay Kumar, in the role of Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair, delivered a roaring performance. He, along with R. Madhavan, in the role of Adv. Neville McKinley breathed fire onscreen with their performances. Sankaran Nair’s confrontation sequence with General Reginald Dyer in the restroom, the pre-climax sequence in the court, and the climax sequence at the bar council are sure to induce goosebumps and evoke extreme emotions in the audience.

On the flip side, there were quite a few cinematic liberties taken by the makers throughout the film. The setup at times feels as if the proceedings are happening in England but not in pre-independence India. Also, there were a few arguable historical inaccuracies. The sequence where a group of English people protest in front of Sankaran Nair’s house and Sankaran Nair gets the air logs from the aviation department and military records are a few of the cinematic liberties. All these things may be true but the way they are shown on screen is overtly dramatic or overtly simplified.

Overall, Kesari Chapter 2 is powerful and well-made with roaring performances from most of the actors. Over-dramatization of such a sad and serious incident like the ‘Jallianwala Bagh massacre’ may not go well with a certain section of people but the film certainly deserves an appreciation and a watch in theatres for what it was made.

Kesari Chapter 2 – Powerful

Rating – 3/5